Uganda: Four-Year-Old Girl Perishes in House Fire

By Nobert Atukunda

Kampala — As Ugandans ushered in the New Year, a four-year-old girl identified as Ketrah Nabatta was killed after fire gutted the house in which she was sleeping in Kinyolo Katwe, Makindye Division, Kampala.

According to residents, the deceased’s mother locked her in the house with a burning candle and went out to party on New year’s Eve.

“That woman always left the child in the house. This is not the first time. She is a party animal,” one of the residents, who preferred anonymity, said.

The fire is said to have started at around 8pm and by the time the police fire brigade arrived at about 8.30pm, the child was dead.

The mother reportedly came back home at about 10pm. She, however denied leaving a burning candle in the house and instead attributed the cause of the fire to an electric short-circuit.

The area LC1 chairperson, Mr Jamada Kasibante, urged parents to be more responsible with their children.

“As parents we need to stop this kind of carelessness. If the mother had been around, maybe this would not have happened,” Mr Kasibante said.

The Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson Mr Luke Oweyesigyire was not yet aware of the incident by press time.